blonde

American  

[blond] / blɒnd /

adjective

1. (of a woman or girl) having fair hair and usually fair skin and light eyes.

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noun

1. a woman or girl having this coloration.

blonde British  

/ blɒnd /

adjective

1. (of women's hair) of a light colour; fair

2. (of a person, people or a race) having fair hair, a light complexion, and, typically, blue or grey eyes

3. (of soft furnishings, wood, etc) light in colour

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noun

1. a person, esp a woman, having light-coloured hair and skin

2. Also called: blonde lace.  a French pillow lace, originally of unbleached cream-coloured Chinese silk, later of bleached or black-dyed silk

Spelling

The spelling blonde is still widely used for the noun that specifies a woman or girl with fair hair: The blonde with the baby in her arms is my anthropology professor. Some people object to this as an unnecessary distinction, preferring blond for all people: My sister is thinking of becoming a blond for a while. As an adjective, the word is more usually spelled blond in reference to all people ( an energetic blond girl; two blond sons ), although the form blonde is occasionally still used of a female: the blonde model and her escort. The spelling blond is almost always used for the adjective describing hair, complexion, etc.: His daughter has blond hair and hazel eyes.

Usage

What’s the difference between blonde and blond? Blonde and blond are both adjectives most commonly used to describe the color of light or yellowish hair or someone who has such hair. They can also both be used as nouns referring to a person with such hair, as in Should I make this character a blond or a redhead? They are pronounced exactly the same. But there is a difference: the spelling blonde is typically used in a gender-specific way to refer to or describe women and girls with this hair color. In contrast, the use of blond in a gender-neutral way is very common. And when the word is used as an adjective, this spelling is much more commonly used, regardless of the gender of the person whose hair color is being described.Blond and blonde derive from French, which has grammatical gender, meaning that some words end differently depending on whether they are applied to men or women (with e being the feminine ending). This happens in a few other pairs of words in English, like confidant and confidante, though in many cases the term without the e has become largely gender-neutral. This is the case with blond, which is the more commonly used of the two.When describing the colors of things other than hair, such as wood or coffee, only the spelling blond is used.When in doubt, remember that the spelling blond is appropriate in all cases.Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between blonde and blond.

Other Word Forms

• blondeness noun

Etymology

Origin of blonde

blond

Example Sentences

She spoke softly with her blonde hair tied back in a bun while her lawyers asked that she be given proper medical treatment, including an xray of potentially bruised ribs and a fracture.

From BBC

Bardot starred in nearly 50 films including And God Created Woman and Contempt, setting fashion trends with her tousled blonde hair and bold eyeliner, before becoming the model for Marianne, the personified symbol of France.

From BBC

As well as her work in film, Bardot will also be remembered as a fashion icon, with her blonde tousled hair and bold eyeliner setting beauty trends worldwide.

From BBC

He disappears upstairs and returns minutes later in a blonde wig, yellow polo with the collar popped and a white linen jacket—the costume of his alter ego, “Hall and Grits.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Our CX-90’s smallness and fineness continued inside, with the intimate cockpit and cabin wrapped in exquisite Nappa hides, blonde maple wood trim, polished metals and textiles chosen for their home-country narratives.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• blond